16
Capabilities of Tier 1
Clear description of the digital map data metadata; Discovery of digital map data via on-line catalogs; and
The ability to visualize digital geospatial information as maps over the Web; The ability to visually overlay geospatial information as maps from different sources.
Typical scenarios for an organization or institution in Tier 1
Looking for a simple, low cost way to share geospatial information with all stakeholders and constituents;
Geospatial information may be stored in more than one system using different geospatial Geographic Information System - GIS technology and organizations do not wish to standardize
on a single technology platform; Geospatial information is stored in more than one format and the organizations does not want
to incur the time and expense of reformatting geospatial information into a single format. The belief that the data should remain closest to the source owner of the data that has maintenance
responsibility to increase the likelihood of update; Publish one or more maps for government and citizen access;
May be unable or unwilling to distribute the underlying geospatial data but is willing and able to share images of the data;
At this initial level of capability, policy and governance related to geospatial information management and operations may be somewhat informal.
2.2. Tier 2 - Partnerships - Share, Integrate and Use Geospatial Information from
different Providers
Tier 2 Goal
An information community wishes to provide access to geospatial information over the Web, provide geospatial information download services, and in addition, may provide specific data themes, such as
roads, from multiple sources that conform to agreed upon standards-based data models
18
to create a consistent and integrated definition or meaning of the geospatial information for users.
18
An OGC White Paper on Data Models and Interoperability provides an excellent discussion on standards-based data models for data sharing and enhancing interoperability.
http:portal.opengeospatial.orgfiles?artifact_id=3805version=2format=pdf
17 The main drivers for a move from Tier 1 to Tier 2 are: 1 the need to share geospatial data rather than
maps in order to support more detailed analysis forecasting and other more powerful decision support applications, and 2 the desire to achieve interoperability within a community based on agreed upon
standards-based data models for data exchange. Organizations wish to publish their geospatial
information on the web. Furthermore, one or more organizations wish to work with other
e e s of a o u it to uild, sha e, a d
use datasets that provide a common operational view of important issues such as safe navigation,
flood control, road maintenance, disaster management or bush fire management and
response. Using this approach, data providers do not need to adopt the same technology solutions
or change their database structures provided that they conform to agreed upon data models.
Through the use of Tier 2 open standards, they can provide access to view, distribute, or share
geospatial information that conforms to these agreed upon standards-based data models.
As a result of the approach described above, users accessing geospatial content delivered in this way will be able to view, process and analyze geospatial information seamlessly, even though the data may be
provided from multiple sources. Other user communities requesting geospatial information will receive the content in a common structure format, which will facilitate its use in additional end user applications.
Through this approach: Tier 1 goals are built upon;
Access to geospatial information for viewing, analysis and other applications can be provided to all stakeholders and constituents using a consistent, well documented standards-based approach;
Publishing of geospatial information is enhanced by adherence to agreed upon data content models for distribution and application. Content owners do not need to change their underlying
models nor do they need to change their current geospatial technology provider unless that provider does not provide standards-based approaches;
Overall costs are reduced since existing geospatial technology can be leveraged; Existing geospatial information can be re-purposed, with reduced reliance on format translation,
and with enhanced quality of data and services; Access to geospatial information and services can be controlled through access authorization;
Visualization Portrayal
Catalog Discovery
Distributed Maintenance
Use Domain Data
Models
Tier 1 Standards
Tier 2 Standards
Figure 4: Standards applicable to Tier 2 see Companion document for details
18 Collaborative data maintenance capability is enhanced see below.
Capabilities of Tier 2:
Capabilities of Tier 1
and
Ability to access and share detailed geospatial information within each organization and with other cooperating organizations;
Enhanced ability to apply geospatial data for enhanced situational awareness, analysis, forecasting and decision support;
Ability to maintain and improve quality of common geospatial information between cooperating organizations and jurisdictions e.g. transportation, land use data across a
county, province, or state boundary, or between nations; Through organization agreements to share data using agreed upon standards-based data
models, many more geospatial information sources and users can be integrated into the SDI. This is important in many situations, such as emergency response, disaster management,
economic sustainability decisions, energy utilization, planning and citizen benefits.
Typical scenario for organizations in Tier 2
The desire to make geospatial information accessible over the web for use online or for download and offline use;
Improve effectiveness and efficiency of an established information community with identified common information needs, for example, organizations in neighboring jurisdictions that wish to
share consistent thematic data for example, nautical charting, roads or forest cover across their borders;
Common information structures data models to support easy geospatial information exchange between cooperating organizations and jurisdictions;
The ability for users from different organizations to be able to query, exchange and interact with similar geospatial datasets in a consistent way e.g. road networks forming an aggregated view;
The ability to provide information by way of metadata about the context in which geospatial data has been collected and used. This provenance and data quality information is critical in
allowing users to determine fitness for use of geospatial information within a given application; At this level of capability, more formal geospatial information management policies and practices
have been adopted, agreed upon data models have been established, and information sharing agreements have been established between cooperating organizations.
19
2.3. Tier 3 - Spatially Enabling the Nation
